Increase Prozac, side effects??

[JamesDean130]

Ive been off and on prozac for 25 years. I tapered down to 5mg over the summer. Boom had a panic attack. I went back up to 10 for a few weeks then I was on 20mg for four weeks. Felt ok at 20 for two weeks of the four, boom panic attack. So I went up to 30 about 12 days ago. I feel like I'm back where i started with panic and anxiety. Is this a side effect of upping my dosage or that prozac isn't working?

[Agora1]

Hi James, I would believe that it is from the up and down dosage of Prozac more

than it is not working anymore. Your body is telling you it doesn't like the dose

it's on and wants more. Even in weaning off a drug, anxiety symptoms will break

through. When I was weaned off benzos years ago, it was a slow process of cutting

the dose every 2 weeks (3 the most) never going back up no matter what the side

effects were. But it was done under the care of my doctor.

It sounds like you may be doing this on your own and it's actually confusing your

body. Stay safe, check with your doctor. They know best.

[JamesDean130 in reply to Agora1]

I have a psychiatrist. She told me to go up to 20mg six weeks ago on 9/8. Felt a bit better on 9/26 and lasted until 10/8. On 10/8 has panic and upped to 30mg. Been on the 30 about two weeks. Hasn't gotten any better. Worse even. Saw psychiatrist yesterday and she said I could up to 40 or even 60. But said maybe wait a few more weeks. I'm just wondering why i felt fine for a few week and now regressed even at a higher dose? I've been taking .5mg to .75mg of lorazepam for about 10 days and it works did a bit and that's all. She said I could take 2-4mg of lorazepam for a month with no worries about dependency or addiction. But I worry I'll get too dependent. Heard horror stories about people coming off and worsening anxiety.

[BonnieSue in reply to JamesDean130]

Came off my benzo after about 26-7 years at 4mg/day with no problems. Decided myself that I felt like I needed to reduce the dose due to sleepiness. Reduced and reduced until I wasn't taking any at all. That was 3 years ago. No addiction after all those years. Haven't needed it in that 3 years.

[lillyofthevalley37]

Did you have panic attacks prior to taking prozac?

[JamesDean130 in reply to lillyofthevalley37]

Yes

[Agora1 in reply to lillyofthevalley37]

It wasn't Prozac I was on but Benzos (both Xanax and then switched to Ativan)

But yes I did have panic attacks before being put on them. The thing is when

coming down or even increasing a dosage on any drug, you will feel the effects

until it stabilizes. Are you trying to get off Prozac completely?

[JamesDean130 in reply to Agora1]

No I'm trying to go back on. Was on an off for 25 years. Two years ago felt great and decided a slow taper. Took two years to get to 5mg. The as I stated had a stressful event and panic in August and went back up to 10mg. Then up to 20mg on 9/8. After about three weeks felt it working. Then 9/26 another panick so I upped to 30 on 10/8. Since 10/8 stayed anxious until three days ago when it got worse again. I'm wondering if it got worse three days ago and still bad because I increased on 10/8. Ride it out or go up to 40? I'm think too quick to jump to 40 already.....

The benzos I've never really taken unless it's an emergency for 25 years. But since I've been on 30mg since 10/8 I've taken a half or a little more a day to cope. I could use more and my wife's whose an NP and my psychiatrist tell me to use them and j can def take them for months without issue.

I'm just worried about getting dependent or addicted and it makes things worse in the end when j try to come off.

[Pearl67 in reply to JamesDean130]

Sorry about this! I can relate to good on very low or no ssri and then BOOM! Any idea what is informing your current panic??

Is your general health in tip top shape? No thyroid issues?? Blood sugars stable? Good sleep? Exercise-vigorous?

Maybe a switch fro Prozac is in order?

[JamesDean130 in reply to Pearl67]

At gym now lol.

It was a work stress that caused it.

I think prozac will work since it has in the past. Just the side effects of upping the last two weeks are horrid

[Agora1 in reply to JamesDean130]

James I understand but whether getting on a drug or off, it's got to be done

slowly Your doctor should be advising you in how to get back up to the dose

you require. You will finally reach full efficacy but it can't be done in leaps and

bounds. (even doing it slowly there will be some side effects that break through)

It can't be helped. I wish you luck on getting back to a therapeutic level once again.

[JamesDean130 in reply to Agora1]

Thx I'm trying to be patient. The last few days have been horrible. I'm thinking it's upping the dose and it hasn't leveled out.

[Agora1 in reply to JamesDean130]

It's more than likely the cause

[mydogs]

Hello James I have been on 20 mgs of Prozac going into 5th weeks and my anxiety and depression has gone through the roof been back to Drs and he said it was side effects and to persevere for another couple of weeks,I have always suffered from depression but this anxiety and panic and loss of appetite is really stressing me out are you still taking Prozac and how do you feel now? Hope you are feeling better

[JamesDean130 in reply to mydogs]

Starting on 9/8 with 20mg, after 16 days I started feeling better. Then on 10/11 had a panic attack so I bumped up to 39. Since then it's stayed bad but the last few days REALLY bad. Ruminating, panic, crying. It's been 14 days on 30 and I'm wondering if it's a side effect of going up?? Or it's not working and need to go up to 40. Ugh. My wife tells me to ride it out another week to see if it's side effects.

[mydogs]

Thanks for reply James mornings are unbearable for me shakes, panic ,crying nonstop and living alone makes it worse, let’s hope we start to feel better soon.

[ScottishUK]

Hello James.

I don't think that's side effects honestly. You said you were on and off since 25 years and you felt great 2 years ago (then down to 5 my). Your body got used to it. So in my opinion you should give more time like your psychiatrist said with the increased dose. If things get worst or the same maybe it is time to switch ( under supervision of your psychiatrist of course). Unfortunately for all of us antidepressants are like a plaster but if you want my opinion ( and in case fluoxetine doesn't help in a few weeks) consider switching to paroxetine ( ask your doctor) . After fluoxetine I was put in paroxetine and it was brilliant. Unfortunately paroxetine is hard to be off after starting ( the withdrawal symptoms are horrible) but it is one of the most effective drugs for anxiety and panic attacks. Discuss the pros and cons of paroxetine with your doctor. Conclusion: paroxetine is more potent than fluoxetine but harder to withdrawal. Hope you get better soon and don't be scared because we all have ups and downs while on antidepressants. I almost forgot , consider ( again talk with your doctor) using benzo short term until the antidepressant works. The traumatic event was clearly stronger than the benefit of the antidepressant. It is unpleasant because make us question if the medication is good, if we gonna die, etc. So maybe CBT or mindfulness would be a great asset. Medication + CBT + exercise are the best "mix" to recover quickly. Sorry for the English and get better soon.

[LilyAnnepuppy in reply to ScottishUK]

I think your reply is spot on. In fact it’s funny because my miracle antidepressant for 25 years was paroxetine until it stopped working. And after trying too many meds to count, fluoxetine was what is working now. I also needed the benzo to help with transition. I guess our chemical make ups are similar.

[ScottishUK in reply to LilyAnnepuppy]

Hi Lily. That's exactly what happened to me also. After so long with paroxetine I got back to fluoxetine. Both are like cousins ( tried sertraline or Zoloft and I felt crap). Maybe we are family and we don't know lol. My mom also tried fluoxetine and it worked for her.

[LilyAnnepuppy in reply to ScottishUK]

We certainly could be related I had the DNA test thing done and my bloodline is 98% from your part of the world (assuming you didn’t pull ScottishUK out of a hat).